evan, lindsay, nina, elena and esther

Lindsay and I just got back from the doctor and we have with us an envelope with the gender of our baby sealed inside. We'll be opening the envelope once a little more suspense has been built.

Here are the ultrasound photos.


Nice high kick!


Fingers!!




The dotted line is circling his/her head


Circling the abdomen here. I think the dark spot is the heart.. I don't remember.


The dotted line is measuring the femur


This one and the next one are a little confusing




Tell us what you think! We can't make it out from these pictures, but let us know if you can (or can't) see anything!

Labels: baby, fetus, gender, really cute kid, ultrasound

Along with my dear friend Emily, our friend Jan is ALSO pregnant. Jan is due the first week of December, I’m due the 13th, Emily is due the 23rd. While sitting here missing Jan (she’s at home in Mexico and then in Portland, gone for a month), I’ve been doing some thinking. I have decided that Emily, Jan and I are like The Bermuda Triangle for the following reasons:

1. It takes three points to form a triangle (that’s logical enough right?)
2. It is a place of seasonal and often destructive torrential rains (crying, vomiting, sneezing or any other fluid excretion you can think of from being pregnant and having hay fever)
3. People get lost among us (we have little fetuses which can’t escape)
4. Exceeding tropical beauty (haha!)
5. There are commonly extraterrestrial sightings (sorta feels that way when you get an ultrasound. To think that there is a little being inside of me who I haven’t met yet!)
6. Whoever dares to set sail through our territory must be prepared to brave inexplicable dangers (I think of our husbands who suffer a lot because of us, and other poor unknowing sailors)
7. Periodic methane eruptions (no explanation needed for this one)
8. “A suspension of the law of physics” (I still wonder how the weight of a pregnant belly holds itself up)

Haha OK maybe that was all too much of a stretch. (it's funny to think that most of these may apply when we’re not pregnant as well.)

It is pretty incredible that we all find ourselves pregnant at the same time and that we have each other to commiserate with! I just have to waddle next door and flop down prostrate on Emily’s couch and I have the best company I could imagine. It's really great to have someone who understands what's happening to you. Earlier today Emily motivated me to go work out with her, which I haven’t done since I stopped attending pregnancy yoga a month ago (which was awesome I loved it!). First we stopped by the Snow building on campus for an errand. While I was waiting in the air conditioned building I walked “briskly” up and down a flight of stairs a few times, did a fair amount of lunges (like 6 maybe haha) and then sat on the ground and stretched a bit. We left the Snow building to go next door to the Hart gym and I realized that I was already pooped. Without a word she understood, and walked on while I walked the two blocks home to rest. Who else would have been as understanding?

(and I felt it!)

Labels: baby, eternal families, fetus

Hey people we love and who love our brother Christian!! We wanted to bring an amazing feat to everyone's attention. There's a bicycler's version of a marathon, a grueling 200 mile day ride from Seattle to Portland called the STP. Well amazingly, Christian did it! Yesterday! HE DID IT!!!! AND he was one of the 15% of participants who complete the ride in one day, not two.

If you aren't familiar with fixed gear bikes, they are bikes which only have one gear, and the pedals don't stop moving, which means that you never can coast or stop pedaling. It's a tough ride. (I know, I've tried it) I can't even imagine climbing and descending hills from the puget sound beyond the columbia river ALL day long and never stop moving my legs. Needless to say, I was WORRIED for his safety and we prayed that he'd be OK. And he made it!!

Christian's been an avid urban biker for the last 2 years plus, doing his civil duty of fuel conservation by biking from his lake city apartment to downtown sometimes daily, riding around Green Lake and otherwise exploring the jewels of the emerald city by bike for fun. And he taught me to overcome my own fear of urban biking, taking us head first into the city by bike on a few occasion. I must say, it is the BEST way to explore a city -- by bike. If you can, I implore you -- rent a bike on your next trip to a new place. (of course, learn how to be bike smart in a city first) You see everything, faster than walking speed, slower than car speed. And it's exhilarating.

Christian built his own fixie bike (see the pics below). He even took it with him by plane to the holy site of fixed gear bikedom - NYC. Check out this short video that evan cooked up about a year ago. We've already posted before it but here it is again.



As for Rexburg, we know of only one fixed gear bike roaming around. Maybe because it's mainly an urban cultural thing. Props to that lone fixie owner and other bikers zipping past massive SUVs and trucks churning the roads.


Christian taking off from UW (he rode in a group of 4) at 4:30 AM


What better way to enjoy the beautiful NW scenery than by bike?


A mac-enhanced picture of Christian's fixie